Hawaii FIVE-O

Something for the weekend. The theme to Hawaii Five-O. I was always pretty lukewarm to the show, but I always loved the intro, which may be viewed here. Hawaii will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of statehood on August 21, so consider this as part of the celebration of the 50th star in the Union constellation!

8 Responses to Hawaii FIVE-O

Perhaps this is a good occasion to ask if any A-C contributors contest Obama’s Hawaii birth certificate and identify themselves in any way with the birther’s movement.

The reason I ask is that a Kansas GOP congressman just yesterday used his town-hall meeting time to raise the subject as a legitimate political issue, and you are so fond of reporting with a GOP slant all of the happenings at these meetings.

Considering the fact Mr. DeFrancisis that you are the first person, as far as I can recall, to bring up the “Birther” controversy on this blog, you may take that as a sign of zero interest in that issue among the contributors.

This is the Coolest. TV Theme Song. Ever — although the premise of the show, if I understand correctly, was not quite accurate in that Hawaii does not have an official state police (or at least they didn’t in the 60s and 70s.)

Donald is correct in that NO A-C blogger has yet brought up the Birther controversy. I did not vote for Obama, and my distaste for his policies (particularly with regard to abortion and the economy) is second to no one’s; but I have never doubted for a minute that he IS a bona fide U.S. citizen. For one thing, anyone who requests a birth certificate anywhere in the country gets an official copy, NOT the “original” document; there is nothing suspicious or conspiratorial about that.

Also, at the time Obama was born, it was standard practice for most hospitals to announce every birth in the newspaper (as well as all hospital admissions and discharges). My brother and I, both born in the early 1960s, had birth announcements in our hometown paper, worded almost exactly the same as the birth announcements for Obama in the Honolulu newspapers — “Mr. and Mrs. Joe Doaks of 234 Elm St., Anytown, girl, Saturday, St. Mary’s.” So, unless Obama’s minions have somehow managed to perfect time travel and transport themselves back to 1961 so they could plant fake birth announcements, I’m presuming there’s nothing fishy there.

The theme music is arguably one of the best ever (I’m from Hawaii so I may be biased, but it’s hard to argue it’s pretty darn good).

As to Mark DeFrancisis’ point of the ‘birth certificate’, I don’t believe in it, it’s clear that Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii. No one in Hawaii (mostly that is) believes he was born anywhere else.

To be sure, last year I followed up with my political contacts in the Hawaii government and it was basically a non-issue and untrue that Mr. Obama was born outside of Hawaii.

The only intriguing bit of information was that some were worried that it stated in his birth certificate that he was born as a ‘Muslim’, but that was quickly squashed by my friends. There is absolutely no truth to any of the birther allegations that Mr. Obama was born outside of Hawaii and no truth that he was born a ‘muslim’.

By some accounts (true or internet nonsense, do not know), Mr. Obama & assoc. have expended a six-figure sum in legal fees in resisting the release of his long form certificate. This is perplexing, if true. It is also perplexing (even if he has spent nothing) that he does not release the long form given the public controversy on this matter. The information fields in period template long-forms is quite ordinary. Working hypotheses:

1. There is a most embarrassing datum on that long form;

2. He has his finger in the dike against requests for other documentation he would rather not see the light of day;

3. He is playing the angles, allowing his opponents a distraction which makes them look foolish.

Art, I imagine it’s a combo of all three, I just don’t know where the emphasis goes.

1. One doesn’t have to go to the paranoid heights of birtherism to suspect the long-form has something that’s a political headache, quite possibly relating to his adoption. Then again, maybe not. Without knowing what a Hawaiian long-form certificate contains, I’m at sea. Caveat time–to quote the President, “But let me be clear: it’s painfully obvious the President is an American citizen.”

2. Yep. I think this is the key. Despite his compelling personal story, he’s kept a lot of personal details close to his chest (undergrad transcript). That’s his choice, but it’s still something people are interested in. By drawing the line at the birth certificate, he establishes a readily defensible point, especially helpful given your number 3.